The Mercury's greatest hits 2001: Funny, informative...misunderstood

"What you hold in your hands just may be the most arrogant, pretentious experiment in Las Vegas journalism history." So began Geoff Schumacher's inaugural Editor's Note column, kicking off the first edition of the Mercury on Jan. 5, 2001. Hoping to play alternative-to-the-alternative by emphasizing humor and offbeat features, the Mercury spent its first year with a smoking monkey for a mascot and a heavy penchant for satire. The Onion-esque concept was loved by thousands of Las Vegans--and misunderstood by about as many who didn't quite get the whole concept of making stuff up for laughs.

Aw, hell, we'll just come out and say it: We were too smart for Las Vegas.

First with the most

The first issue of the Mercury was published on Jan. 5, 2001, as a 24-page grab-bag of news, satire and commentary. The cover featured the Pets.com sock puppet, then-City Councilman Michael McDonald, George Bush, Steve Wynn and Martha Stewart as members of NSYNC. Ha! We kill us!

Pants pants revolution

As we entered a new millennium, there was one question on everyone's minds: How come it's 2001 and we don't have flying pants? Andrew Kiraly went to the nation's largest clothing convention to find out for the Feb. 23 issue. Not only were they not working on flying pants, but development had also stalled on laser shoes and choco-pants.

Caught lion

This March 30 cover story had Andrew Kiraly investigating sightings of an albino mountain lion in Red Rock Canyon--a creature that went by the scientific name Aprilus Foolicus Dumbassitum. In other words, we made it up. Still, the panicked phone calls and letters were a nice reminder of the power of journalism, even the totally made-up variety. This is, hands down, Editor Schumacher's favorite moment in Mercury history.

A tragic day

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 struck deep into the psyche of America--all the way to Las Vegas, traditionally the city of escape. The bars, strip clubs and casinos of Las Vegas, usually shrines to revelry, became places of somber reflection. The Mercury went to work on a tight deadline to cover the story.

Photographic memory

In the Oct. 5 edition, Mercury photographer Denise Truscello delivered a powerful visual essay after seeing firsthand the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Denise arrived as a photographer "trying to get that one shot that would say it all," she writes. But she saw the true magnitude of the tragedy once she stepped out from behind the camera.

Show us the money

Geoff Schumacher pointed out in this Nov. 30 story, "Rich State, Poor State," how the state's tattered safety net wasn't solely due to the terror attacks. A flawed tax structure and Nevada politicos too frightened to take action were equally to blame. "Knowing full well that the state's tax structure is out of whack, elected officials nevertheless spent the 1990s finding ways to avoid meaningful measures to improve the way Nevada pays its bills," Schumacher wrote.